1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to clamps for holding together pieces of fabric such as surgical drapes and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is a common practice during surgical procedures to provide cloth towels or disposable absorbent fabrics to absorb body fluids and to protect the area surrounding the incision. Such fabric protection is commonly referred to as a surgical drape, and the drapes must be attached together and held around the incision. The most common method of attaching and fixedly holding the surgical drapes has been to pin the drapes together using metal pins or metal clamps, both of which must be sterilized prior to the operation. Such metal fasteners are expensive and often are lost when the surgical drapes are disposed of or are collected for laundering. In addition, the sterilization of such clamps and other fasteners before each operation adds significantly to the expense of their use.
The problems associated with the use of clips to hold together clothing, bedding and the like around human beings, particularly small children and babies, is well knonw. While the safety pin is widely used as an effective fastener for such things as baby clothing, bedding and so forth, and is often used in hospital situations for pinning together bedding and for attaching tubes and the like in the vicinity of a patient, these pins still present the possibility of springing open and injuring the user. Safety pins additionally present the possibility of being swallowed by a small child. Prior metal or plastic clamps developed to replace safety pins have had limited success because of their size, weight, cost, or difficulty of operation.